Saturday, August 16, 2014

Can you sign this letter?/Can you help deliver it on August 20 at 4:30 PM?

Rep. John Sarbanes
600 Baltimore Ave.
Suite 303
Baltimore, MD 21204

August 20, 2014

Dear Representative Sarbanes:

We the People of the United States have amended our Constitution twenty-seven times since it was originally ratified. It's time to do so again. Members of the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore are voters and supporters of Progressive Democrats of America. We call upon you to cosponsor and support the following legislation, if you haven't already:

Please cosponsor and support H.J.Res. 44—proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the right to vote. The right to vote is the fundamental basis of our democratic republic. No citizen of legal voting age should have this basic right infringed. To cosponsor H.J.Res. 44, please direct your staff to contact Rep. Mark. Pocan's office: 202-225-2906.

Please cosponsor and support H.J.Res. 119—proposing an amendment to the US Constitution relating to campaign contributions and expenditures. This is the companion legislation to S.J.Res. 19, reported out by the Senate Judiciary Committee and sent on to the full Senate for a floor vote. Dubious Supreme Court decisions have opened the floodgates to let special interest money dominate and corrupt our elections. This amendment would restore long-standing traditions and restore Congress’ and the States’ role in election finance. To cosponsor H.J.Res. 119, please direct your staff to contact Rep. Ted Deutch's office: 202-225-3001.

Please cosponsor and support H.J.Res. 113—a joint resolution to remove the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). For too long, women and girls (and sometimes men and boys) have lacked constitutional protections. The ERA would help remedy inequality and invidious discrimination on account of sex. To cosponsor H.J.Res. 113, please direct your staff to contact Rep. Jackie Speier's office: (202) 225-3531.

Please cosponsor and support H.R. 292, the New Columbia Admission Act—legislation that would set forth procedures for admission into the United States of the state of New Columbia, including elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative. Currently, the 643,000 people of the District of Columbia lack full basic civil rights and representation in the Congress. H.R. 292 would address this lingering injustice. To cosponsor H.R. 292 please direct your staff to contact Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's office: (202) 225-8050.

Finally, we are seeking an end to the use of killer drone strikes, which we believe to be illegal and unconstitutional. We ask you to speak out against this assassination program, which ignores any veneer of due process. Consider as well a request for the full, unclassified release of information surrounding the administration’s drone policy.

We look forward to your response. And when you are ready, we would like to meet with you, preferably in Baltimore. But if necessary, we will travel to your D.C. office. We thank you for your consideration regarding these critically important issues, and look forward to ongoing discussion and engagement with you in the coming months.

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs